Hi All, I'm putting together my director's reel and not sure how to structure it. I've read and looked at several reels but still at a loss. I have director two features and have several short films. Obviously, my features and latest short is the better quality. Any suggestion would be great, especially on structure or really great examples of director reels would be so appreciated.
Filmmaking / Directing : What should go in to your Director Reel? by Marian Yeager
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Find the clips from all your projects that are your best and cut together a 1-2 min reel using it.
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Like David Seth Cohen says get your best clips and edit in a 1-2 minute reel. Of those clips place the best of the best first and the second best of the best last. That way you start and finish stronger. Do not put any work you consider weak in the reel, even if you are fond of it.
I would urge you not to use music during the performances in those clips. You can put your name at the beginning and the fact that it's a director's reel. Music can be in that intro if you want or just do an L-Cut with the audio of the first clip and get right into it. Ensure your contact info, website and logo are at the end and label each clip with the name of the film and year it came out, whether it's a series, movie or short. If the year they came out is really old, then maybe leave that out. It will make the reel feel old. In fact, just leave the year out.
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As a producer, i tend to respond to star power (any known actors or familiar faces) and stunning visuals at the top of a reel. While that may be obvious, it’s about grabbing attention right out of the gate and then building toward a few dramatic or funny moments (depending on your genre and tone). So in 2 minutes you grab the audience first and then showcase a few meaningful moments like a great performance moment that you directed that can play out a little longer. Those are always the reels that stand out to me.
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Marian, Director reels are a funny thing. Here are few things to keep in mind that have helped me. 1) Your reel is about getting you the meeting for a potential directing job so it doesn't need to be long. 1-2 minutes is great. Someone above I believe made this same comment. If they need to see more they'll ask to see a full scene or a whole film you have done to really make sure you are the right person for their film. 2) There is not one reel fits all kind of approach here. Producers want to see "their film" in your reel, meaning if you are sending a reel to someone looking for someone to direct a ROM COM, then don't send them a reel that is horror or Sci-fi based. It won't get you far. You need to have different types of reels for different genres. I made a HUGE mistake in the beginning making a reel that was just my most expensive shots with the most famous people I had worked with. I thought for sure this would be a home run. NOPE. I remember showing it to an agent from WME and a show-runner from NBC who were at a DGA event I was attending and they said my reel looked expensive BUT it was too many genres mixed together. They told me "You have to stay in your lane. If you are an action director then make your reel about that. If you are a Comedy director then focus on that. Don't be too many things. People want to put you in a box and label you and until you have a huge breakout film find your lane and stay their, knock that out of the park before you start jumping around from one type of film genre to another. " I think this advice was right. So figure out what your strengths are and make a reel that elevates what you are the best at. Start there. 3) Think of your reel as a trailer telling a story. Use all the editing tools, audio SFX you can think of to make the people seeing your reel see you are telling a STORY with your reel. Show them you have a voice with just a simple reel. Show them you are clever through your editing. Hope these things help you. Excited to see your REEL my friend. Cheers!